Recently, I have been thinking about how to evolve the blog so as to keep the content interesting and relevant to our industry. I realized that if I hired a contributing editor or two, they could be out there in the world helping me to start the conversations that make the blog so popular. They could offer their points of view, connect to their own interesting contacts and ultimately provide an extra layer of insight that I would not be able to provide on my own.
With that in mind, I am very excited to announce the first of our two new members on the Notes From a Rep’s Journal team. Please meet, Rebecca Bedrossian. Many of you may remember her as Managing Editor of Communication Arts, but now she is an independent writer and editor. I love how on her site she shares that …”As a writer I tell stories and my words paint pictures, both large and small.” What a perfect match for our own picture making team.
Rebecca will be concentrating on writing posts about our photographers, their personal projects and philosophies on the business. Be sure to check back in the next few weeks for her first posts as I am sure her way with words and their way with photographs will make for some stunning reading.
While you await her first post, here is a bit about Rebecca. I thought Chris Crisman’s series, The Meaning of Life in Ten Questions, would be a great way to get to know her better. If you like her answers, be sure to link to Chris’ blog as there are many more interviews with people in our industry answering the same questions. And, if you want to see what she has been up to, please check out her site.
The Meaning of Life in Ten Questions, borrowed from Chris Crisman’s Blog
1) Name one actor you’d like to portray you in a movie about your life?
Hmm this is tough. From the past, I’d pick Ingrid Bergman. She reminds me of my grandmother. From the present, I’d have to say Geena Davis. She is an amazing advocate for women. As the mother of two girls, I’m all about girl power! I follow everything the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media does.
2) What is your preferred vehicle or mode of transportation?
Train. If I had my way, and it worked with my schedule, this would be my main mode of transportation—long and short distances. However, I’m usually driving. And I do fly. It’s necessary when you’ve time constraints and family overseas.
3) What is your favorite beverage for creative inspiration? (Specifics are encouraged)
I’m fond of cabernet and, on occasion, a Ketel One Gimlet.
4) Name your all time favorite band, singer, or album?
Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life. Hands down. I’ll be seeing him December 5th.
5) Name one place in the world that you’ve been and can’t wait to return to and why?
I’m really looking forward to taking my girls to London for the first time. Throughout my childhood I visited my family there, and it’s like a second home. And now that they’re both really interested in history, it will be so much fun to see sights through their eyes.
6) What is favorite shoot of all time? Please elaborate (we should revise this for you – what would you want this one to be?) Heather, how about what is my favorite article/interview of all time?
In 2009 I profiled photographer Kate Brooks in CA. At the time she was 31, had her “home” base in Turkey, and was covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her photographs didn’t capture the more sought-out images of soldiers and action, but documented the lives of the people who live in the war-torn regions: specifically women and children. She shared part of her journal with me, and we added an excerpt to the end of the article. I had to bargain for an extra spread, but I felt her story was an important one for all of us here at home to read.
7) What is your philosophy on creating and inspiring?
My most creative moments happen when I’m busy doing other things. The key is jotting it down, in a notebook, on a phone. I find when I let it go (ack, that phrase is forever linked to Frozen), my best ideas happen, for a story, a headline, an angle, new ways to empower girls and change the world.
8) Describe a defining moment in your career that has led you to where you are today?
Before I joined Communication Arts, I was headed into academia and fine arts. But soon after I finished grad school, my cousin Michelle, who owned a salon, called me. She said she was doing a woman’s hair and she happened to work at an art magazine that needed an editor. “An art magazine,” Michelle emphasized. I went down to the salon to meet the receptionist at CA, a magazine I’d never heard of, and later sent her my resume. I must say, after I received the call to come in for an interview in August of 1998, I went to Barnes and Noble to buy an issue of Communication Arts, and I was blown away! It was $16 dollars! Long story short, the majority of my career was spent at the magazine, and all the pieces have fallen into place since then because of it.
9) Name one person you wish you could have a drink with and why? *This can be any person or character living or deceased.
I thought about this question for far too long. So many names ran through my head. Would it be a politician, an artist, or a writer? At the moment, I’m going with Amy Poehler. I’d love to chat about the organization she co-founded, Smart Girls at the Party, and how she’s encouraging teens to “change the world by being yourself”. I imagine our conversation would be both hilarious and enlightening.
10) If the world is ending in 2014, how will you change your life plan?
Well, this doesn’t give me much time! But I’d be with my family, making favorite meals, and drinking far-too-expensive wine.